UTSA First-Year Faculty: Assistant Professor John Alexander

(July 25, 2007)--John Alexander, assistant professor of architecture, came to UTSA from Texas A&M University. After becoming acquainted with many of the UTSA College of Architecture faculty while he was at A&M, he was excited to move to San Antonio to become involved in the rapidly developing UTSA architecture program.

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According to Alexander, when he came to interview he had the chance to meet UTSA students and was very impressed with their work. He is excited to participate in the development of future architects and to help the college grow.

His chief area of research as an architectural historian is the work of Saint Carlo Borromeo and early modern Italian architecture. In his research, he plans to study the Milanese architecture influenced and patronized by Borromeo and then to trace its impact through Spain and to Mexico.

Alexander believes that architecture is a more immediate way to understand past cultures because "we all live in buildings." He would love to expand the architecture program at UTSA to include more than the architectural history survey courses required for architecture majors, but also more specialized courses for advanced historical research.

His favorite early modern architect is Camillo-Guarino Guarini, who worked primarily in Turin, and his favorite modern architect is Carlo Scarpa.